Empowering highly motivated individuals to make a profound impact on the world.

August 2009

Today I went to an optimist club meeting in Woodstock, GA and met some wonderful people. What most people don't know about me is that I received the outstanding student award at my elementary school from Optimist International in 6th grade. My teachers nominated me and I was presented with a trophy during halftime at a high school football game. I think it was the proudest moment in my mom's life and it was the first time for me to receive a reward that grand that it really stands in my mind. Several years later the idea of finding and joining an optimist club to support the very foundation that supported me during my youth was very appealing. I had looked at the Optimist website several times in the past but did not take the next step to diligently get connected. A few weeks ago, Jeanette, a family law attorney, contacted me to do some networking. She found me on linked in and after looking at her profile, I discovered she was part of Optimist International. God works in mysterious ways. She invited me to an Optimist meeting and I joined today. I'll go through an official initiation in next week's meeting. They say that each member affects the lives of 35 children a year. Won't you join me in making a difference in a child's life? http://www.optimist.org/

Below is the Optimist Creed which we say at the close of our meetings. It's one of my favorite parts. Enjoy!

The Optimist Creed

Promise YourselfTo be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

The following are excerpts from John Maxwell's Developing The Leader Within You.

A wise philosopher once commented that an eagle's only obstacle to overcome for flying with greater speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air were withdrawn and the proud bird were to fly in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.

The main obstacle that a powerboat has to overcome is the water against the propeller, yet, if it were not for the same resistance, the boat would not move at all.

The same law, that obstacles are conditions of success, holds true in human life. A life free of all obstacles and difficulties would reduce all possibilities and powers to zero. Eliminate problems, and life loses its creative tension. The problem with mass ignorance gives meaning to education. The problem of ill health gives meaning to medicine. The problem of social disorder gives meaning to government.

We all have a tendency all of our lives to want to get rid of problems and responsibilities. When the temptation arises, remember the youth who was questioning a lonely old man. "What is life's heaviest burden?" he asked. The old fellow answered sadly, "Having nothing to carry."

Bury a person in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have a Glenn CUnningham, who set the world's one-mile record in 1934.

Why did the achievers overcome problems, while thousands are overwhelmed by theirs? They refused to hold on to the common excuses for failure. They turned their stumbling blocks into stepping-stones. They realized they could not determine every circumstance in life, but they could determine their choice of attitude toward every circumstance.

Kim's thoughts:

What's the great opportunity in your life right now that's disguised as an obstacle?

How is this obstacle challenging you to step up and play a bigger game with your life?

If you saw your obstacle as the air that lifts up the eagle, how would it cause you to soar?

What's your vision of a greater tomorrow?

*If you want to discuss these concepts like this with other like-minded individuals, join the "Taking It To the Max!" Empowerment Zone Leadership Circle. For more info. go to: http://www.mycoachkim.com/Upcoming.html

"And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (NLT)

2. To provide for you…

Matt 6:31-33

“What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” (MSG)

3. To help you deal with what happens that day…

Matt 6:24

"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.” (MSG)

4. To give you rest…

Matt 6:34

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (MSG)

5. To give you peace…

Phil 4:6-7

“Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (MSG)

6. To give real treasure

Matt 6:19-21

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or — worse! — stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. (MSG)

7. To grow in your faith…

James 1:2-4

“Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (NLT)

8. To give strength whatever the financial situation

Phil 4:12-14

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ,* who gives me strength.” (NLT)

9. To lift you up…

1 Peter 5:6-7

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (NLT)

10. To meet your needs…

Phil 4:19-20

“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. (MSG)

11. To protect you from fear…

Proverbs 46:1-3

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (NIV)

12. To be with you…

Isa 43:2-3

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God.”

13. To renew your strength…

Isaiah 40:31

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (NIV)

14. To give you wisdom…

James 1:5

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (NIV)

15. To direct your decisions…

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; do not depend on your won understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (NIV)

16. To give you something to look forward to…

1 Corinthians 2:9

“No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it — What God has arranged for those who love him.” (MSG)

17. To answer your prayers…

Matt 7:7-8

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (NLT)

18.To comfort you, and comfort others through you…

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT)

19. To bring joy…

Ps 126:5

“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.” (NLT)

20. To bless those who bless others…

Proverbs 11:25

“The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” (MSG)

21. To reward your faith…

Matt 17:20

"Jesus told them." I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.

Individuals and families are experiencing life at a mind numbing pace. Stress-filled, chaotic living takes a toll on intimacy, relationships, as well as spiritual, physical, and mental health. As a professional counselor, speaker, and writer, John knows how to help you get a grip on your life and your relationships. Using an upbeat, entertaining, but direct approach, John shows you personal , practical, biblical solutions for daily living.